MARTIN SAMUEL: Cristiano Ronaldo is ready for his greatest test

Carlos Queiroz banking on his captain's work ethic (and genius) to save Portugal's World Cup hopes

The first time he saw Cristiano Ronaldo, he knew. The boy was only 15, playing at the Academia de Alcochete, home to the cream of Sporting Lisbon's young players, but Carlos Queiroz had been there before.

He had seen Luis Figo in the same shirt at that age, Paulo Futre, too. He had watched, mesmerised, a young Rui Costa.

'But Ronaldo was the one,' Queiroz said.

Greatest test: Portugal skipper Ronaldo must ensure victory over Hungary if they are to stand a chance of qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa next summer

'I saw them all as boys, Figo and Rui Costa as young as 13, and their talent stood out. But Ronaldo was unique. I had reference so I could compare and I knew he was even better. There was something different about him, even then.'

On Saturday night at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, a relationship that began with Ronaldo a teenager and Queiroz an admirer, and continued with Queiroz a coach and Ronaldo the star at Manchester United, will reach its critical point in the red and green of Portugal.

Queiroz, now the national manager, and Ronaldo, his captain, must ensure victory over Hungary if Portugal are to stand a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Queiroz has been in these shoes before, failing to take Portugal to the European Championships in 1992 and the World Cup in 1994 in his first spell as manager, but to crash with the best player in the world in the passenger seat would be a particularly bitter end.

'If I could not get Cristiano to the World Cup, I would be full of regret,' he told me.

'I do not agree with Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, that a World Cup without Ronaldo would not suffer.

'I am not saying we only deserve to be there for him, we must be there on merit, all of us, but it would be a pity if Ronaldo was not on this stage because he will create entertainment for the world.'

Green giant: Ronaldo shares a joke during training

It is easy, as an Englishman, to be drawn into the gloating about Ronaldo's agonies on the road to South Africa. After all, as Wayne Rooney observed, there is previous.

Penalty shoot-outs, disallowed goals, injuries, red cards, winking, it is as if the whole bitter history of English football in the 21st century is tied up with the inability to defeat one country, and one man.

Yet talking with Queiroz at the team base near Peniche on the Atlantic coast, it is hard not to wish Portugal the fair wind they need to qualify. Not just because the greatest players should dominate the greatest tournaments, as underdogs and surprises have an attraction, too, but because the hardest work merits the greater reward.

And nobody is prepared to work harder for artistry than Ronaldo. What you see is not the half of it, not a fraction of it, in fact.

There are many players who run, who tackle, who get up and back with extra determination but they will be long gone when, unseen on the training ground, in the cold and rain, there is a lone figure standing, peppering the target with one more free-kick, just one more, then one again until he gets it right.

This is the player that Queiroz knows and, even semi-fit with an ankle injury, it is the one he will rely on to pull his country through against Hungary.

'I have worked with some outstanding players like Roberto Donadoni and Zinedine Zidane, but Ronaldo's mentality sets him apart,' Queiroz added.

'He had all their good points but some that were better, like his persistence.

'They are all unbelievable professionals but the way this boy has worked since he was 17, his perfectionism, his obsession, he wants to be the one. For him, it is not enough to be good. He has to be the best.

'So many times at Manchester United I would be talking to Sir Alex Ferguson telling him we need to move forward with Ronaldo, that it must be done immediately. I never had any doubt. He was so good, so confident.

'There are some great players that have so much belief that when things are not going well on the training field they just stop. They think, "I am good, today is not right, but tomorrow it will be fine". They never think there could be a problem. Not Cristiano. He works and works until everything goes right and only then is he satisfied.

'I have always spent time with players on free-kicks but with Ronaldo we worked for days and days.

On the ball: Carlos Queiroz has faith in Ronaldo to lead Portugal through to 2010

'I have learned something about technique from all the best ones, like Zidane and Krasimir Balakov, so at Manchester United we put that into Ronaldo, the details, the mechanics of their movement, how they position their bodies.

'Then I did my own study of biomechanics, I looked at the great free-kick takers like Michel Platini, the position of the chin, the arms, we introduced fine details, one step 20 centimetres to the left see what happens, position the feet here, the knee like this.'

Then the hard work began.

'We practised every day, but the information will only get you so far. Beyond that, you need to have a genius with you to make it work, to give you the answers. All the rest is down to the capacity of the player to try the new ideas until he is efficient.

'There's nobody

who's prepared

to work harder

for his artistry'

'I remember when we got to the Champions League final in 2008 against Chelsea. As usual I stayed with Ronaldo on the training field to sort the set-pieces with him. It was a new ball, a different ball for that match and our first day was a disaster.

'He could not get one free-kick between the posts, nothing was correct; it went up, it went left, it went right, never on target. So then we started on the details: stand to the right, to the left, put the standing foot there, strike it like this, inside the foot, outside the foot.

'After two days, still nothing, but after three days it started to fly how we wanted. Air distribution in all balls is different and that one was a nightmare to work out, but the important thing is that Ronaldo never quit. Not after two whole days with no success.

'That is what makes him a pleasure - I always say he motivates the coaches, not the other way around. I think he learned at Manchester United from players like Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, because they all had that winning mentality and a determination to work hard. With Cristiano's nature in that environment, he grew up overnight. It was a factory like no other in football.'

Practice makes perfect: Queiroz insists nobody is prepared to work harder than the former Manchester United superstar who often stays hours after training

If Ronaldo grew up overnight in Manchester, he must have aged-10 years as the figurehead of this Portuguese qualifying campaign.

The player who has nine goals in seven competitive games for his new club, Real Madrid, and scored 42 and then 26 from midfield (in what was perceived as an ordinary final season) at Manchester United, is yet to find the net in six games and 540 minutes of World Cup football with Portugal. Too often he has been coming back from injury or carrying a knock - as is the case now, he only resumed light training on Thursday - and at times when he has been fit Portugal have been missing as many as seven of his team-mates.

After beating Malta 4-0 away, Portugal's campaign fell apart with home defeat by Denmark and consecutive goalless draws against Sweden, home and away, and Albania in Braga.

Recovering on the road with wins in Albania and Hungary, and a draw in Denmark - they had 36 shots and scored one goal, in the 86th minute through Liedson, a substitute - Portugal now trail Denmark by five points and Sweden by two with two games remaining.

Denmark play Sweden in Copenhagen on Saturday night with Queiroz banking on a home win and the chance to slip into second place. A draw could see qualification decided by goal difference, a Swedish win and Portugal's hopes would be as good as over, whatever the result against Hungary.

Tense? Ronaldo looked relaxed in Lisbon yesterday but in the matches his form has been patchy and, as captain, he appears to be feeling the pressure more than most.

Giving the role to the best player can do that. Did Queiroz not think of relieving the burden?

'Ronaldo was captain before I arrived, but we had one game and one training session before meeting up for our first qualification matches so I kept the decision in place,' he said.

Leading by example: The Portuguese captain knows just how important a win is

'It wasn't just that I didn't have time, I agreed with it, too. Cristiano is the best player in Portugal, probably the best in the world - if that player cannot captain the national team then something is wrong. Yes, I thought about taking the captaincy away when things were not going well, but I thought to do that without giving him the opportunity to learn and grow into the role would not be right.

'We do not have a man like Keane, who can be a leader in all areas, but we have players who can help Cristiano learn.

'There are areas of the team in which Deco is a leader, very cool, very experienced. Ricardo Carvalho is one who challenges players. Ronaldo's leadership is by example, his dedication, his persistence, his professionalism.

'We are in good hands and now we are rebounding and getting better results, it gives me the trust and confidence that we will qualify. This is the hard part for us. If we get to South Africa, it will be easier because we will have time to prepare.

'We have the technique, the quality, the inspiration and when a tournament comes at the end of a long season those are the attributes that shine through. The running teams fade then, because they are tired. Fighting against Denmark or Sweden, that is not our way.'

Some might argue the hint of arrogance is the reason Portugal are in trouble in the first place. No doubt the reasons are more complex than pride before a fall.

Queiroz, coach of the team that won the Under-20 World Cup twice, and was tagged the Golden Generation, has been charged with restructuring the national side, top to bottom. He has replaced all technical staff from under-17 level upwards, introduced seven new coaches working on two systems of play.

Coming of age: The Real ace has grown into a leader

Portugal has similar problems to England with a lack of opportunity in the top league for young homegrown players, so Queiroz has sought to challenge them with training camps, more international competitions and quicker promotions to higher age groups for the most talented, so that otherwise unused players will enjoy 15 to 20 international games each year.

'If we do not do this now there will be no future for our game,' he insisted.

'There is a long road to go for Portugal. We have as many foreign players as England, but it is worse because in the Premier League they are good quality so at least the English players are playing at a high standard, against the best in the world.

'In Portugal we are top of the league for foreign players, and bottom for their quality. There is no control, even in our youth teams. All the forwards are foreign. And throughout our league it is the same.'

Maybe if Ronaldo - or CR9 as he is known in the Portuguese press, Rooney's advisors would be green with envy - can propel his team to the finals, the clubs will have faith in local players again.

It is clear that Saturday's match is considerably more than just Ronaldo's last stand. The sporting culture of a country is on the line, yet all conversations return to the same young man, with the weight of the World Cup on his shoulders.

'We will see the best of Ronaldo now,' Queiroz insisted.

'We will see the best of Cristiano Ronaldo now'

'Playing for Real Madrid was his dream and this will make him stable. He will improve as a player, too, because he will have to think more.

'Most teams in England have the same tactical approach, 4-4-2. In Spain it could be anything from week to week, so you have to consider the game in a more tactical way. And, also, he is more mature - that is the main point.

'You cannot compare a 24-year-old with a teenager arriving for his first season in England. He is not a kid coming in at 7.30am anymore, listening to the adults talk while he eats his breakfast.'

And Queiroz is no longer watching that same teenager express his gift for the mere hell of it. Simpler times, and gone forever.